European Tribune - Comments - Should Ireland leave the Eurozone?

Should Ireland leave the Eurozone? | 70 comments (70 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

regulatory regime? what's that all about? I thought diesels were unpopular in the US because they were associated with old loud dirty slow engines that were the norm 25 years ago.

The VW 2.0 Litre turbo diesel which you can get in the Golf or Passat is supposed to be v. good too.

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Thu Jan 14th, 2010 at 08:39:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 1)

The VW sounds okay. Both the Golf and Jetta have TDI models. Pretty expensive, though. Twenty three grand is well into Mini Cooper niche/boutique territory for what isn't really a niche/boutique brand. And you'd need to save a lot of gas to make up for the five grand difference in price between the TDI and the gasoline models.

Regulatory: As I understand it (as always, I may be wrong), we don't have diesels due to the way diesel emissions are regulated in the US.

Can't see it being because of old associations with the engines. At least not beyond pushing the cars for a couple years until people see that they're not all those things anymore.

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Thu Jan 14th, 2010 at 08:47:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (4.00 / 3)

ASAIK diesels are also cleaner than petrol engines - certainly in terms of CO2 emissions. There is no technical justification for the 5K price differential. Diesels are only marginally more expensive to produce than petrol engines when produced in large volumes. It must be the low volumes sold in the US that creates the differential - that plus VW making money where they can. German manufacturers are not noted for price discounting to gain market share.

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Thu Jan 14th, 2010 at 08:57:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (4.00 / 3)

I drove a VW diesel for 5 years, Compared to a Ford Petrol of roughly the same capacity, it worked out on Fuel that we were saving roughly £40 per week, the only thing that worked out worse was that like all deisels it was expensive in front tyres with the heavier engine.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Thu Jan 14th, 2010 at 10:13:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 0)

That was probably the old 1.9L diesel which had good low end torque but v. average diesel economy. The much newer 2.0 Litre is supposed to be a big improvement in refinement, economy, and performance - but I have never driven it.

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 07:38:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 1)

Jesus, how many miles were you driving per week?

Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 07:45:29 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 0)

About 270 miles a week

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 09:34:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 1)

The story goes that US particulate emission standards regulate European diesels out of the market.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 03:57:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 1)

Sounds conceivable. Do they apply the same emission standards to large trucks? How come VW has Diesels on the market then? Perhaps it also depends on how "clean" the base diesel is at the retail level. Are there different refining standards?

notes from no w here

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot dotty communists) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 07:36:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: ?!?!?wtf (none / 1)

More room in the big truck for the bolt on scrubber or whatever it is - but if its a sideswipe protectionist measure that better explains how it got through in the first place.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 08:02:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]

We just went through a ... (none / 1)

... tightening of refining standard for diesel fuel in the last few years, which is a reason why diesel prices started to really pick up steam before gasoline in the 06/07 period - don't know if that was up to Euro standards or up from Euro standard.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jan 15th, 2010 at 08:05:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Should Ireland leave the Eurozone? | 70 comments (70 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

. Home
. About
. Contact
. New User Guide
. FAQ
. ET Editorial Guidelines
. Search
. Search (Google)

Username:
Password:

. Make a new account
. Reset password

Recommended Diaries

Socratic Economics XII: Utopian Government Finance
by Zwackus - May 25
275 comments

A Star is Born
by ChrisCook - May 23
23 comments

The French newspaper Le Monde reports 1.5 million living the...
by Democrats Ramshield - May 27
8 comments

$1,000,000,000,00
0 or what we must remember
by Metatone - May 19
69 comments

The balance of anger and fear
by Frank Schnittger - May 17
44 comments

Stable pricing is to metaphysics as variable pricing is to...
by Upstate NY - May 16
8 comments

Another NRW election
by DoDo - May 13
118 comments

Bundesrat saves PV (and loses Röttgen)
by DoDo - May 12
18 comments

Recent Diaries

The French newspaper Le Monde reports 1.5 million living the...
by Democrats Ramshield - May 27
8 comments

Socratic Economics XII: Utopian Government Finance
by Zwackus - May 25
275 comments

A Star is Born
by ChrisCook - May 23
23 comments

$1,000,000,000,00
0 or what we must remember
by Metatone - May 19
69 comments

The balance of anger and fear
by Frank Schnittger - May 17
44 comments

Stable pricing is to metaphysics as variable pricing is to...
by Upstate NY - May 16
8 comments

A little American intercine battling
by rootless2 - May 14
27 comments

Another NRW election
by DoDo - May 13
118 comments

Bundesrat saves PV (and loses Röttgen)
by DoDo - May 12
18 comments

The mainstream German Magazine Spiegel asks, has the US mixed ...
by Democrats Ramshield - May 10
27 comments

Short Term Climate Forces: Black Carbon, Methane, and...
by gmoke - May 9

Twenty days of Crisis for Cameron
by ceebs - May 9
22 comments

SYRIZA and the Eurocrats: a letter of intent
by talos - May 9
363 comments

French Parliamentary Elections: a look under the hood
by Bernard - May 8
59 comments

Why haven't we had WWIII yet?
by Migeru - Apr 30
258 comments

More Diaries...

Occasional Series

Click for full list